Essex father-of-two may never run again after almost losing leg to 'bizarre' football injury

A father-of-two who nearly lost his leg from being kicked during a football game has been told he may never run again.

Dale Elliott came back from his match in Rayleigh in Essex with aches in his left leg but the next day he was in A&E in excruciating pain.

Doctors at Broomfield Hospital told the 37-year-old from Canvey Island he had compartment syndrome in his left leg - where pressure within a compartment of the body increases and restricts blood flow, resulting in the muscle and tissue starting to die.

Initially, doctors feared they may need to amputate his leg but following several bouts of surgery the prognosis is better.

Mr Elliott's wife Steph, 28, said it had been an "unbelievable" situation. "Dale got kicked in the left calf, he said it hurt a bit, but he continued to play and came back home and said it was a bit achey.

"On 31 October he went to A&E because his leg had swollen and he was in excruciating pain. He unfortunately waited an extremely long time to actually get a bed - about 12 hours.

"He was given emergency surgery to relieve the pressure - they thought it was a blood clot but it was an internal bleed in his leg.

"He got transferred to Broomfield and they had to remove an entire muscle out of his leg because it had died from the lack of oxygen."

Mrs Elliott said that since the numerous surgeries to remove the surrounding dead tissue, doctors were now "really pleased" with how her husband's other muscles in his leg looked.

He will have to remain in hospital for another three months - meaning he will be in there over Christmas - with further surgery to remove the last of the decaying tissue and for skin grafts.

Mrs Elliott admitted the way her husband sustained the injury was "incredibly bizarre".

"He should be able to walk again, but we're not sure if he will be able to run again, and we're pretty sure he can't play sports again.

"He's a builder, and what he can do will be limited in terms of work, [so] it's going to be challenging."

Mr Elliott's best friend Paul Brown has now launched a fundraiser for Steph and his two children, aged four and two, to get them through the foreseeable future.

Mrs Elliott added: "Honestly, the situation we are in is unbelievable, but the support is incredible."

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